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A major search and rescue operation is continuing in the English Channel, after at least four people died and 39 others were rescued when their small migrant boat capsized.

The operation involving helicopters and lifeboats was launched at around 3am on Wednesday, with some survivors now “fighting for their lives” in hospital.

The boat was carrying up to 50 people – including, it is believed, women and children – when it ran into difficulties.

WARNING: This story contains an image of dead person in the water

Accounts of how the tragedy unfolded have been emerging, as a British fisherman whose crew saved 31 people told Sky News he was woken in the early hours of the morning when migrants surrounded his boat “screaming for help” – and a French charity say they received a mayday call.

Channel Rescue
Re: large search and rescue operation launched in the Channel off the coast of Dungeness, in Kent following an incident involving a small boat likely to have been carrying migrants
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People from the small boat scramble up the side of the fishing vessel

‘Help us, help us’, man says in voice note

Skipper Raymond said he then counted 45 people holding onto the collapsed dinghy and surrounding his fishing boat.

Exclusive footage obtained by Sky News shows the moment of the rescue – with scores of people crammed into the small rubber boat shouting for help, as they are pulled to safety by a crew on board a nearby fishing vessel.

He said those he rescued came from Afghanistan, Iraq, Senegal and India, and told him they had each paid £5,000 to a smuggler in France for passage into the UK.

And a French charity which helps migrants in Calais said it received a 22-second WhatsApp voice note at 2.53am from a man on a sinking migrant boat begging for help as babies screamed in the background.

The man said people were in the seawater which had entered the vessel and begged the charity to “help us, help us”, according to Nikolai Posner, a spokesman for the Utopia 56 charity.

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A timeline of the latest Channel tragedy

Some survivors still ‘fighting for their lives’

The charity said the man had also sent the location of the boat. Utopia 56 tried to respond and did not receive an answer and called the French coastguard at 2.57am French time and then emailed the French and British coastguard at 3.13am.

Mr Posner said it first informed the French coastguard because “the first location that we had was in French waters.”

The Royal Navy, French navy, Coastguard and RNLI lifeboats were all involved in a major rescue operation off the Kent coast on Wednesday morning.

RNLI lifeboats were launched from Dover at 3.07am, followed by more from Ramsgate and Hastings.

A Kent MP, Sir Roger Gale told the Commons that some of those rescued were still “fighting for their lives”.

One migrant died while attached to a rope linked to the fisherman's boat
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One migrant died while attached to a rope linked to the fisherman’s boat
Dover Rescue
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At least 39 people have been rescued alive

Temperature overnight between zero 0C and 1C

Searches will continue, but at this stage more are feared dead given the freezing conditions of the water, a source told Sky News.

The temperature recorded at Dungeness overnight was between 0C and 1C, according to the Met Office.

British Red Cross director of refugee support Alex Fraser said anyone making the journey under these circumstances “shows just how desperate people are”.

Sunak expresses ‘sorrow’ at incident

“Nobody puts their life at risk like this unless they feel they have no other option, and until we have more accessible safe routes for people to claim asylum, there is a danger we may see more such incidents,” he said.

Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has expressed his ‘sorrow’ at the incident, telling MPs there had been a “tragic loss of human life”.

The Maritime and Coastguard Agency said HM Coastguard is working with the RNLI, Royal Navy, Border Force, French navy and Kent Police to look for the boat.

Coastguard rescue teams from Deal, Dungeness and Folkestone have been involved in the operation, along with helicopters from Lydd and Lee on Solent, and another from the French navy also taking part.

Two French vessels – as well as the fishing boat in the area – were also involved.

Forensic tents erected at the RNLI station at the Port of Dover following a large search and rescue operation launched in the Channel off the coast of Dungeness
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Forensic tents at the RNLI station at the Port of Dover this morning
The Dover lifeboat returns to the Port of Dover after a large search and rescue operation launched in the Channel off the coast of Dungeness, in Kent, following an incident involving a small boat likely to have been carrying migrants. Three people have died following the incident and 43 people have been rescued, a Government source said. Picture date: Wednesday December 14, 2022.
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A lifeboat returns to the port following the Channel search

Home Secretary Suella Braverman, who updated MPs on the situation, said she was aware of the “distressing incident” and is “being kept constantly updated” while agencies respond and “urgently establish the full facts”.

“These are the days that we dread. Crossing the Channel in unseaworthy vessels is a lethally dangerous endeavour,” she told the Commons.

In a joint statement Home Secretary Suella Braverman and the French Home and Overseas Minister Gerald Darmanin described the events as “tragic”.

They added: “Unfortunately, several deaths have been confirmed… A coordinated response to this terrible tragedy has been put in place, with French and British actors working together. We salute the commitment of all those who contributed to it.”

route of one of the SAR helicopters
Pic:FlightRadar24.com
Image:
The route of one of the SAR helicopters. Pic: FlightRadar24.com
Channel rescue map

The incident comes just hours after Mr Sunak promised to bring in new laws to tackle illegal immigration.

Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer said it was “heartbreaking” there had been more deaths in the Channel, while Dover MP Natalie Elphicke urged Mr Sunak to “meet urgently” with French President Emmanuel Macron to set up joint patrols in the Channel and on the beaches to prevent boats entering the water and to save lives.

People now attempt the journeys all year round in overcrowded vessels, in perilous conditions, unsuitably dressed and often without life jackets – having paid smugglers up to £6,000 each to help them make the crossing.

As of midnight last night, 44,711 people have made the dangerous crossing on board small boats so far this year, according to data analysed by Sky News. This includes 1,087 boats, with an average of 41 people per vessel.

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The Godfather-style gang war gripping two major cities – with brutal attacks caught on camera

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The Godfather-style gang war gripping two major cities - with brutal attacks caught on camera

It’s like The Godfather, one reformed drug trafficker tells me.

The mythical gangster film centred on an organised crime dynasty locked in a transfer of power.

Communities in Scotland currently have a front row seat to a new war of violence, torture, and taunts as feuding drug lords and notorious families grapple for control of Glasgow and Edinburgh.

There have been more than a dozen brutal attacks over the past six weeks – ranging from fire bombings to attacks on children and gun violence.

A firebomb attack in Scotland
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A firebomb attack in Scotland

Victims left for dead, businesses up in flames

Gangsters have filmed themselves setting fire to buildings and homes connected to the associates and relatives of their bitter rivals.

The main aim, they boast, is to “exterminate” the opposition.

The taunting footage, accompanied by the song Keep On Running by The Spencer Davis Group, has been plastered over social media as part of a deliberate game of goading.

A 12-year-old boy and 72-year-old woman were left for dead when teenagers wearing balaclavas burst into a home in north Glasgow.

Garages and businesses have gone up in flames. Shots were fired at an Edinburgh house.

Signals are being sent of who wants control of Scotland’s dark criminal underworld.

A firebomb attack in Scotland that saw a man through an incendiary device through a building window
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A firebomb attack that saw a man throw an incendiary device through a building window

A house after it was set on fire by two individuals in Glasgow
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The fire attack set to the song Keep On Running by The Spencer Davis Group

What’s caused the gang war?

The former director of the Scottish Crime and Drug Enforcement Agency, Graeme Pearson, explains how a “vacuum of leadership” is playing a part.

Last October, Glasgow-based cocaine kingpin Jamie Stevenson, known as The Iceman, was jailed after orchestrating a £100m cocaine shipment stashed in banana boxes from South America.

The mob leader was one of Britain’s most wanted, running his business like another on-screen criminal enterprise: The Sopranos.

The 59-year-old fugitive went on the run before eventually being hunted and apprehended by police while out jogging in the Netherlands.

Jamie Stevenson. Pic: Police Scotland
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Jamie Stevenson. Pic: Police Scotland

Pic: Crown Office
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Pic: Crown Office

‘Old scores to settle’

But paranoia was running rife about how this notorious gangster could be brought down. Was there a grass? Was it one of their own?

It further fuelled divisions and forced new alliances to be forged across Scotland’s organised criminal networks.

It wasn’t until The Iceman case came to court that it was revealed an encrypted messaging platform, known as EncroChat, had been infiltrated by law enforcement.

It ultimately led to Stevenson pleading guilty.

Ex-senior drug enforcement officer Mr Pearson told Sky News: “It is a complex picture because you have got people who are in prison who still want to have influence outside and look after what was their business.

“On the outside you’ve got wannabes who are coming forward, and they think this is an opportunity for them, and you have got others have old scores to settle that they could not settle when crime bosses were around.”

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Graham Pearson
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Graeme Pearson

Mr Pearson describes a toxic mix swirling to create outbursts of violence unfolding in Scotland.

He concluded: “All that mixes together – and the greed for the money that comes from drugs, and from the kudos that comes from being a ‘main man’, and you end up with competition, violence, and the kind of incidents we have seen over the past four to six weeks.”

New wave of violence ‘barbaric’

Glasgow man Mark Dempster is a former addict, dealer, and drug smuggler who is now an author and respected counsellor helping people quit drinking and drugs.

He describes the “jostle for power” as not a new concept among Glasgow’s high profile gangland families.

Mark Dempster is a former addict, dealer and drug smuggler who is now an author and respected counsellor
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Mark Dempster

“There is always going to be someone new who wants to control the markets. It is like The Godfather. There is no difference between Scotland, Albania, or India,” he said.

Mr Dempster suggests a shift in tactics in Glasgow and Edinburgh in recent weeks, with 12-year-olds being viciously attacked in the middle of the night.

“It is barbaric. When young people, children, get pulled into the cross fire. It takes it to a different level.

“At least with the old mafiosa they had an unwritten rule that no children, no other family members. You would deal directly with the main people that were your opposition.”

Police Scotland is racing to get control of the situation, but declined to speak to Sky News about its ongoing operation.

It has been suggested 100 officers are working on this case, with “arrests imminent”.

But this is at the very sharp end of sophisticated criminal empires where the police are not feared, there are fierce vendettas and, clearly, power is up for grabs.

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Laws may need to be bolstered to crack down on exploitation of child ‘influencers’, senior MP suggests

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Laws may need to be bolstered to crack down on exploitation of child 'influencers', senior MP suggests

Laws may need to be strengthened to crack down on the exploitation of child “influencers”, a senior Labour MP has warned.

Chi Onwurah, chair of the science, technology and innovation committee, said parts of the Online Safety Act – passed in October 2023 – may already be “obsolete or inadequate”.

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Experts have raised concerns that there is a lack of provision in industry laws for children who earn money through brand collaborations on social media when compared to child actors and models.

This has led to some children advertising in their underwear on social media, one expert has claimed.

Those working in more traditional entertainment fields are safeguarded by performance laws, which strictly govern the hours a minor can work, the money they earn and who they are accompanied by.

The Child Influencer Project, which has curated the world’s first industry guidelines for the group, has warned of a “large gap in UK law” which is not sufficiently filled by new online safety legislation.

Official portrait of Chi Onwurah.
Pic: UK Parlimeant
Image:
Official portrait of Chi Onwurah.
Pic: UK Parlimeant

The group’s research found that child influencers could be exposed to as many as 20 different risks of harm, including to dignity, identity, family life, education, and their health and safety.

Ms Onwurah told Sky News there needs to be a “much clearer understanding of the nature of child influencers ‘work’ and the legal and regulatory framework around it”.

She said: “The safety and welfare of children are at the heart of the Online Safety Act and rightly so.

“However, as we know in a number of areas the act may already be obsolete or inadequate due to the lack of foresight and rigour of the last government.”

Victoria Collins, the Liberal Democrat spokesperson for science, innovation and technology, agreed that regulations “need to keep pace with the times”, with child influencers on social media “protected in the same way” as child actors or models.

“Liberal Democrats would welcome steps to strengthen the Online Safety Act on this front,” she added.

‘Something has to be done’

MPs warned in 2022 that the government should “urgently address the gap in UK child labour and performance regulation that is leaving child influencers without protection”.

They asked for new laws on working hours and conditions, a mandate for the protection of the child’s earnings, a right to erasure and to bring child labour arrangements under the oversight of local authorities.

However, Dr Francis Rees, the principal investigator for the Child Influencer Project, told Sky News that even after the implementation of the Online Safety Act, “there’s still a lot wanting”.

“Something has to be done to make brands more aware of their own duty of care towards kids in this arena,” she said.

Dr Rees added that achieving performances from children on social media “can involve extremely coercive and disruptive practices”.

“We simply have to do more to protect these children who have very little say or understanding of what is really happening. Most are left without a voice and without a choice.”

What is a child influencer – and how are they at risk?

A child influencer is a person under the age of 18 who makes money through social media, whether that is using their image alone or with their family.

Dr Francis Rees, principal investigator for the Child Influencer Project, explains this is an “escalation” from the sharing of digital images and performances of the child into “some form of commercial gain or brand endorsement”.

She said issues can emerge when young people work with brands – who do not have to comply with standard practise for a child influencer as they would with an in-house production.

Dr Rees explains how, when working with a child model or actor, an advertising agency would have to make sure a performance license is in place, and make sure “everything is in accordance with many layers of legislation and regulation around child protection”.

But, outside of a professional environment, these safeguards are not in place.

She notes that 30-second videos “can take as long as three days to practice and rehearse”.

And, Dr Rees suggests, this can have a strain on the parent-child relationship.

“It’s just not as simple as taking a child on to a set and having them perform to a camera which professionals are involved in.”

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The researcher pointed to one particular instance, in which children were advertising an underwear brand on social media.

She said: “The kids in the company’s own marketing material or their own media campaigns are either pulling up the band of the underwear underneath their clothing, or they’re holding the underwear up while they’re fully clothed.

“But whenever you look at any of the sponsored content produced by families with children – mum, dad, and child are in their underwear.”

Dr Rees said it is “night and day” in terms of how companies are behaving when they have responsibility for the material, versus “the lack of responsibility once they hand it over to parents with kids”.

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Two arrested on suspicion of murder after disappearance of woman in South Wales

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Two arrested on suspicion of murder after disappearance of woman in South Wales

Police investigating the disappearance of a woman in South Wales have arrested two people on suspicion of murder.

Paria Veisi, 37, was last seen around 3pm on Saturday 12 April when she left her workplace in the Canton area of Cardiff.

She was driving her car, a black Mercedes GLC 200, which was later found on Dorchester Avenue in the Penylan area on the evening of Tuesday 15 April.

South Wales Police said it was now treating her disappearance as a murder investigation.

A 41-year-old man and a 48-year-old woman, both known to Ms Veisi, have been arrested on suspicion of murder and remain in police custody.

Detective Chief Inspector Matt Powell said he currently had “no proof that Paria is alive”.

The senior investigating officer added: “[Ms Veisi’s] family and friends are extremely concerned that they have not heard from her, which is totally out of character.

“Paria’s family has been informed and we are keeping them updated.

“We have two people in custody, and at this stage we are not looking for anybody else in connection with this investigation.

“Our investigation remains focused on Paria’s movements after she left work in the Canton area on Saturday April 12.

“Extensive CCTV and house-to-house inquiries are being carried out by a team of officers and I am appealing for anybody who has information, no matter how insignificant it may seem, to make contact.”

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Ms Veisi is described as having long, curly black hair.

She was last seen wearing a black zip-up gym top over a red top, black trousers and trainers, and was carrying a small handbag.

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